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Tech Five: Apple splits stock as Microsoft, Sony spar

On this sunny East Coast morning, investors will want to remember that Apple has split its stock. Also, among five tech stocks to watch today, will be Microsoft and Sony as they showcase products at an expo.

On this sunny East Coast morning, investors will want to remember that Apple has split its stock. Also, among five tech stocks to watch today, will be Microsoft and Sony as they spar this week at an expo focused partly on video game consoles.

Apple. In case you forgot, don't freak out when you see Apple's new share price today. Effective June 6, it's increasing the number of its common shares seven times so each share will be worth one-seventh of its prior value. It announced the stock split in a filing Friday with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Since it closed last week at $646, shares will start trading at about $92. While the split should have no mathematical impact, it will be interesting to see whether it will have a psychological one. In pre-market trading today, it was holding steady.

Sony.The media giant is gaining the upper hand in the video game console wars as sales of its PlayStation4 beat those of Microsoft's Xbox One. Both consoles were released eight months ago. Tonight at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles, Sony will hold a news conference to talk about its lineup.

Microsoft. Though Xbox One sales are trailing in the console wars, Microsoft has other products that it will showcase as it takes the lead at the Los Angeles expo with a news conference at noon ET today. USA TODAY will have all the details.

Google.Could this media giant follow in the footsteps of Apple, which recently bought Beats Music? The New York Post, which correctly reported the Beats purchase before it occurred, says Google is currently offering Songza $15 million. Apple paid a lot more, $3 billion, for Beats but only a fraction of that — $500 million — was for its streaming service. Its stock was holding steady today in pre-market trading.

Amazon. How will investors react to its new online payments service, beginning today, that will increasingly creep into the turf of eBay's PayPal? The service allows its 240-plus million customers to use credit card details stored on Amazon.com to pay for items such as a monthly phone bill or a digital music subscription. It will charge a fee on each transaction. This bold move comes ahead of CEO's Jeff Bezos' expected unveiling on June 18 of a smartphone that will play a crucial role in expanding its mobile payments.